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An Overview of Personal Response Systems
Here's a quick overview of how common personal response systems work.
Most personal response systems use a combination of software and hardware to
present questions, record responses, collect data, and provide feedback. For
instructors, setting up the PRS includes developing lesson plans tied to the
software, ensuring the class roster is accurate and up-to-date, and plugging
in the hardware receiver.
Setting up on the student side is much easier: after obtaining a clicker, students simply register it with the instructor's software.
Hardware
The hardware consists of two componnents: the instructor's receiver and the student's clickers.
Receivers
The two types of PRS systems in use: infrared (IR) and radio frequency (RF). There are pros and cons to each type, but after careful consideration, OID recommends using an RF type. There is less set-up involved with RF systems (such as far fewer wiring issues), and RF systems have fewer shortcomings than the infrared systems.
Infrared systems work via a line-of-sight to the receiver. Each receiver can support a limited number of students (about 40 students per receiver), so larger classes require more receivers. Additionally, receivers are best permanently installed in the classroom, which limits the applicability in a dynamic environment like UCLA -- there are no quarantees that a professor will always be assigned to the same physical classroom.
RF systems, on the other hand, support a practically unlimited number of students (over 2,000 students per receiver!), less wiring, and a more portable solution.
Clickers
The simplest clickers are like a TV remote: usually consisting of little more than a keypad and a small indicator light. More sophisticated clickers have displays where students can view their responses, the remaining battery life, etc. Clickers require batteries, and depending on use, batteries should last about the length of an academic quarter.
Software
PRS systems typically allow instructors to create questions either using PowerPoint or PRS software. Question types may include multiple choice, true/false, numeric, ordering, and short answer. During lectures, questions display onscreen (or the instructor can ask questions orally) and students respond by entering their answers using the clicker. Depending upon instructor preference, the results of student responses may be displayed onscreen along with the correct answer for further discussion. After a session is over, the instructor may save the results, mark them automatically, and save them to a gradebook.
Setting up on the student side is much easier: after obtaining a clicker, students simply register it with the instructor's software.
Hardware
The hardware consists of two componnents: the instructor's receiver and the student's clickers.
Receivers
The two types of PRS systems in use: infrared (IR) and radio frequency (RF). There are pros and cons to each type, but after careful consideration, OID recommends using an RF type. There is less set-up involved with RF systems (such as far fewer wiring issues), and RF systems have fewer shortcomings than the infrared systems.
Infrared systems work via a line-of-sight to the receiver. Each receiver can support a limited number of students (about 40 students per receiver), so larger classes require more receivers. Additionally, receivers are best permanently installed in the classroom, which limits the applicability in a dynamic environment like UCLA -- there are no quarantees that a professor will always be assigned to the same physical classroom.
RF systems, on the other hand, support a practically unlimited number of students (over 2,000 students per receiver!), less wiring, and a more portable solution.
Clickers
The simplest clickers are like a TV remote: usually consisting of little more than a keypad and a small indicator light. More sophisticated clickers have displays where students can view their responses, the remaining battery life, etc. Clickers require batteries, and depending on use, batteries should last about the length of an academic quarter.
Software
PRS systems typically allow instructors to create questions either using PowerPoint or PRS software. Question types may include multiple choice, true/false, numeric, ordering, and short answer. During lectures, questions display onscreen (or the instructor can ask questions orally) and students respond by entering their answers using the clicker. Depending upon instructor preference, the results of student responses may be displayed onscreen along with the correct answer for further discussion. After a session is over, the instructor may save the results, mark them automatically, and save them to a gradebook.
